A meeting of Taiwanese, US and Japanese lawmakers is being discussed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, while an exclusive report by Kyodo News on Wednesday said that a teleconference might be held at the end of this month.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group of the Japanese Diet has held discussions with Taiwan and the US about convening talks on controlling COVID-19, advancing Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO as an observer, and reaching an agreement on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co pledging a stable provision of semiconductors to Japan and the US, Kyodo News said.
Taiwan’s membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership would also be on the agenda, it said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
The idea stemmed from comments made by Japanese Representative Keiji Furuya, a Liberal Democratic Party member, during the Yushan Forum in March last year.
Furuya, who participated in the virtual conference, expressed the hope that lawmakers from the three countries could form a society to promote security cooperation.
Furuya and Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) met in March to discuss the issue, while the details are still being finalized, a source familiar with the matter said.
Asked for comment, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that talks among the three nations are ongoing, but no definite date has been set for a meeting.
Ou thanked Furuya for making the proposal, saying that the ministry was happy to promote the trilateral dialogue.
In other news, Ou said that the Japanese government’s ban on non-Japanese people entering the country from India, Nepal and Pakistan, which took effect on Monday, does not extend to transit passengers.
Taiwanese in India can return to Taiwan via Tokyo, she added.
As of Monday, 10 employees at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in India had tested positive for COVID-19, including two Taiwanese diplomats who on Saturday last week had returned to Taiwan for medical treatment via a chartered flight arranged by the French insurance company Carps International, she said.
Other infected employees can also return for treatment via charter flights, while those with minor symptoms can stay in India for treatment, she said, adding that the ministry had delivered a batch of medication for infected TECC employees.
While local media reported that the TECC’s head, Representative to India Baushuan Ger (葛葆萱), had tested positive, Ou said that the ministry could not release the identity of those who had tested positive due to privacy concerns.
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